Arkansas is Competing and Winning in Economic Development
February 06, 2024Arkansas is on an upward trajectory with companies and entrepreneurs investing in the state and creating new jobs – which is providing new economic opportunities for Arkansans.
In a recent op-ed, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “From north to south, east to west, Arkansas is taking off.” Gov. Sanders is right – we are taking off, and the economic development projects that we have won are helping to lift the Natural State to new heights.
Our first two economic development announcements of 2024 were with Hope Baking Company and Walther Manufacturing. The Hope Baking announcement of 266 jobs and a $37 million investment took place when Gov. Sanders was in Hope when the community was named the “Capital for a Day.” Walther made their announcement of 76 jobs and a $30 million investment in Fort Smith just days before SHOT Show, where we had the opportunity to spend some time with them and other companies in the firearms and ammunition industry.
The four largest economic development announcements in 2023 were from well established companies in our target industries.
Westrock Coffee had the biggest announcement of the year, announcing that it would be expanding its facility in Conway. The company is investing $300 million and will be creating 600 new jobs. SIG Sauer also made a significant announcement, announcing its plans to expand its existing facility in Jacksonville, invest $150 million, and create 625 jobs. Bad Boy Mowers is expanding in Batesville with plans to create 300 new jobs. These are only some of the great projects that the AEDC team worked on during 2023.
We closed out the year strong with a major announcement from Dassault Falcon Jet. Dassault, which operates its largest facility in the world in Little Rock, will be expanding the Little Rock facility. This expansion will create 800 new jobs in the Little Rock metro area and represents a $100 million capital investment.
In total, we had more than $2 billion in capital investment in Arkansas based on signed incentive agreements in 2023.
This success was possible because of great public policy under Gov. Sanders and the Arkansas Legislature, a favorable business environment that encourages business and helps them thrive, and a talented workforce that enables businesses to get their goods and products to market.
It is also possible because of the great economic development team that we have in Arkansas. Across the state, there are wonderful Arkansas communities that are putting in the time and money to develop their workforce, build shovel-ready sites, and create excellent quality of life amenities for their citizens. These communities are doing the hard work so that our team can sell companies and executives on moving to and expanding in Arkansas. I’m thankful for our community partners and for my colleagues at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission for their hard work and dedication to excellence.
Currently, we have a full pipeline of projects, and we are aiming to win more than our fair share of them. We want to bring more economic opportunity to Arkansans, and we look forward to competing for these projects and winning them for the state.
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